Braves Offense Falters as Marlins Take Series Opener

The Atlanta Braves missed an opportunity to close ground in the NL Wild Card chase with a costly loss

The Atlanta Braves struggled to finish the drill offensively, stranding eight on base against the Miami Marlins in their 4-3 loss in loanDepot Park on Friday night. 

Here’s what you need to know about from the contest.

Morton was shaky early, but found it 

Charlie Morton allowed three first-inning runs in this one, coming off of three hits and a walk. While some were talking about it being fluky - the three hits were a broken bat single, another flare single, and a ground-rule double - Miami did pick up three hard-hit batted balls in the inning off of Morton. The veteran righty just didn’t have his curveball early, unable to land it for strikes.

He eventually found it, however, finishing his six innings with just one more run allowed. Morton finished with seven whiffs on the curveball, six coming after the first inning, although he finished with just 12 and a 29% CSW for the game. He allowed just one additional hard-hit ball after the first inning, a 5th-inning double to Kyle Stowers.

The offense, once again, couldn’t seem to break through

Atlanta was dominating the box score in most regards through six innings…but still losing. The Braves had 10 hits to Miami’s seven, having hit two homers to Miami’s zero, but only had three runs to Miami’s four.

And a lot of those issues were familiar to those who have watched a majority of Atlanta’s 153 previous games of baseball this season - the Braves had stranded eight on base and gone 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position through the top of the seventh inning.

Orlando Arcia, most notably, had the most egregious at-bat of the game yet again: In the 2nd inning, with runners on the corners, he got up 3-1 before swinging at two consecutive ball fours and then whiffing on a sweeper to end the inning.

(And then hilariously/tragically, Arcia hit a homer with the bases empty in the fourth.)

Arcia’s .162 batting average and 35 strikeouts in 110 at-bats with runners in scoring position are both the worst marks among qualified hitters in all of MLB this season. Per Baseball Reference’s Stathead database, Arcia’s .420 OPs with RISP is 23rd-worst in MLB history and stands as the fourth-worst mark since the 2000 season.

While expecting Atlanta to sign either Willy Adames or Ha-Seong Kim in free agency is perhaps a bit too much, it’s clear that Atlanta needs to figure out a succession plan for Arcia prior to 2025 - is that prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr., a veteran depth signing, or a trade?

Do they try to retain Razor Ramón?

Ramón Laureano was unceremoniously DFA’d by the Cleveland Guardians in late May after hitting just .143 with one homer in his first 31 games for Cleveland.

He’s somehow been one of Atlanta’s best hitters this season.

The veteran got on base three times tonight, going 2-4 with a homer, a single, and reaching via error. He’s hit nine homers in 59 games, holding a .308 batting average and .867 OPS for the Braves. Capable of playing all three outfield positions and still possessing one of the most potent arms in the league, he’s been an underrated piece for Atlanta.

Do they try and bring him back next season? The outfield mix for 2025, as of now, is some combination of Michael Harris II, the defensively-limited Jorge Soler, the offensively-limited Jarred Kelenic, and the injury-limited Ronald Acuña Jr. It feels, at least up front, that Laureano doesn’t fit into this mix from a playing time perspective, but his veteran presence and production this season both warrant the conversation.

Questions remain about Ozzie

Atlanta reinstated their injured second baseman prior to today’s game, re-installing him in the #2 spot and moving Jorge Soler down to the #5 place in the order.

It wasn’t the spark the offense was looking for.

Batting solely right-handed against righties, something he’s rarely ever done in his career, Ozzie had a return to forget: 0-5, seeing a total of 13 pitches (and accounting for six total outs after he grounded into a double play in the 6th.

Albies said prior to the game that he was going to continue working on his lefty swing to get it to a pain-free, productive place as quickly as possible, but it’s questionable as to if he can do that quickly enough for it to matter this season. Kudos to him for coming back as soon as possible to help the guys, but the early returns aren’t great on the move.

A wasted opportunity

As of time of publication, the New York Mets are losing 12-2 to the Phillies in the 8th inning at Citi Field and the Arizona Diamondbacks are barely ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-4, in American Family Field.

Even if Arizona holds on to win, the Braves could have gained some ground on the Mets with a victory tonight. This is now the 2nd loss of this road trip and the Braves can’t afford to drop any more matchups over the weekend if they want to be within striking distance of New York when the Mets come to Truist Park next week.

What’s next for the Atlanta Braves?

Atlanta’s back at it tomorrow afternoon, with Max Fried (9-10, 3.49) taking on Adam Oller (1-4, 5.40) at 4:10 PM ET.